Arizona Cardinals crush Browns playoff hopes

The Arizona Cardinals brought some offense with them to State Farm Stadium on Sunday in their first win in almost 2 months

If there was anything that became clear for the Arizona Cardinals as they wind down their 2019 season with rookie quarterback Kyler Murray and head coach Kliff Kingsbury is that they have likely found their starting running back in 2020.  Kenyan Drake had a game on Sunday.

Drake, who hadn’t scored since his debut with the Cardinals on Halloween night in week 9 against the San Francisco 49ers, had 4 touchdowns on Sunday himself in the Cardinals 38-24 victory over the Cleveland Browns.  The scoring started early.

The Cardinals were able to take the opening kickoff down the field to grab a 7-0 lead 4:51 into the first quarter.  They eventually took a 14-0 lead before the Cardinals defense showed up as their usual selves.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield, who went 30-43 for 247-yards with 2 touchdowns and an interception, had an ok afternoon.  He could have been picked 3-4 times.  Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson arguably had his best game of the season.

He had his second interception of the season and a toe out of bounds kept him from his third in the fourth quarter Sunday afternoon.  Peterson was officially credited with 3 passes defensed against the Browns, primarily covering Browns receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

The Cardinals defense still left a lot to be desired but it certainly is easier to talk about after a win rather than a loss.  Browns running back Nick Chubb ran all over the Cardinals defense to the tune of 17 carries for 127-yards and 2 touchdowns.

The Cardinals again missed a number of tackles and had a couple of untimely penalties.  However it was one penalty in the 3rd quarter, an overturned non-pass interference call, that allowed the Cardinals to stop whatever momentum the Browns were gaining.

As for the Browns, they are still mathematically eligible for the playoffs, though a Pittsburgh Steelers win on Sunday night will end that.  They came in with high expectations into the 2019 season and will now exit with a lot to think about, such as the status of their head coach in Freddit Kitchens.

The Cardinals get their fourth win of the year and now go on the road to finish off the season over the last 2 weeks.  They will finish with a better record than the 2018 team.